Charles Bonnet was born on March 13, 1720 in Geneva. Mr. Bonnet could
not communicate well at school. The other kids made fun of him.
Because of this his father decided to home school him. His father hired a
tutor. His
tutor taught him other languages like
Greek and
Latin. He also taught him
science.

Photo Courtesy of the Collection Jean-Jacques Monney

Aphids

Photo Courtesy of Rothamsted Research Center
Photo Courtesy of The International Carnivorous Plant Society

Mr. Bonnet was very adventurous as a child. He searched for
examples of the things he learned about in science outside. When
Bonnet was 20 years old he ran an experiment. The insect he studied was called an aphid. He discovered
parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis means that a mother
insect can have babies without a father
insect. This was a very important discovery.

His family did not want him to become a scientist so he
became a lawyer. He continued to be a scientist as a hobby.

Bonnet became very interested in entomology. He ran many
experiments with butterflies, caterpillars, and ants. People
call him the first experimental entomologist. Bonnet wrote many
books about his work.

Butterfly
Photo Courtesy of Rothamsted Research Center

Ant
Photo Courtesy of the University of Illinois

CaterpillarPhoto Courtesy of the University of Sydney

Kids with asthma have to take medicine.

Photo Courtesy of the Daily Mail

Bonnet was not just deaf. He also became
blind and had
asthma when he was young. Bonnet spent most of
his life alone. He did not enjoy being around other people.
It was too hard to communicate.

Because he was blind and deaf he had to change what he studied. He became
interested in
botany.
He studied
photosynthesis. When this became too hard he hired helpers. When he could no
longer do his own
experiments he wrote down his ideas.
Others scientists tried experiments that he wrote down.

Picture Courtesy of Grapevine.com

Evolution

Picture Courtesy of the South African National Parks

One of the papers Bonnet wrote was about species
extinction. Extinction happens when the last member of one kind
of animal dies. He believed in the catastrophism theory.
This means that he believed that events like earthquakes and floods
made the shape of the Earth. He also believed species evolved.
Evolution means that living things change. He was the first person to think of this idea.

He communicated his ideas well though writing until he died on May 20, 1793.